If BB is a defensive mastermind, why...?

[BlitzFritz]

...has our defense been so average for the past few years.

Not only average, but unimaginative.

I couldnt help admiring the RexRyan attacking D with multiple confusing looks, and pressure. IF that is such a successful D, why arent we doing some of that? (and dont say its because of injuries cause we havent even tried it in the past 2 seasons or last week)

PS I was happy enough with our D yesterday. Could have been MORE destructive with a rookie QB.

-- FRITZ

 

[SHOWTIME15]

Re: If BB is a defensive mastermind, why....?

...has our defense been so average for the past few years.

Not only average, but unimaginative.

I couldnt help admiring the RexRyan attacking D with multiple confusing looks, and pressure. IF that is such a successful D, why arent we doing some of that? (and dont say its because of injuries cause we havent even tried it in the past 2 seasons or last week)

PS I was happy enough with our D yesterday. Could have been MORE destructive with a rookie QB.

-- FRITZ

i'm not sure we have the players do what the jets did yesterday on D. the pats drafting has not been spectacular over the past several seasons. Did you see that Mike Jenkins kid last night in Dallas? He was a guy belichick went all the way down to florida to see in 07' and he ends up drafting terrence wheatley who has not (to my knowledge) played a single snap in a regular season game for the pats.

we are also in a transition period going from old to younger players. it will take some time to rebuild the D.

 

[rsd]

Re: If BB is a defensive mastermind, why....?

I understand the "Fan appeal" of that type of Defensive. But really, how has that worked for Baltimore in the recent past? Yes they're a solid team, but it's not like they have been dominant in the last 8 years or so. That type of defensive can be exploited (it's high risk, high reward). Unfortunately the Patriots didn't do that yesterday.

 

[rsd]

Re: If BB is a defensive mastermind, why....?

i'm not sure we have the players do what the jets did yesterday on D. the pats drafting has not been spectacular over the past several seasons. Did you see that Mike Jenkins kid last night in Dallas? He was a guy belichick went all the way down to florida to see in 07' and he ends up drafting terrence wheatley who has not (to my knowledge) played a single snap in a regular season game for the pats.

we are also in a transition period going from old to younger players. it will take some time to rebuild the D.

Actually Wheatley played in several games last year, and was a started in the Colts game (and looked very good) before he got injured.

He's looked like crap this year however.

 

[tanked_as_usual]

Re: If BB is a defensive mastermind, why....?

part of the problem is that you now have nearly half of the NFL trying to implement the same kind of defense.........so the talent pool has been thinned out

his biggest problem is that he held onto LB's too long the way the celtics held onto the big 3 too long.....

 

[Snarf]

Totally agree. BB is a clearly a general COACHING mastermind on all sides of the ball, but there are far better defensive minds out there.

Our defensive coaching since Romeo Crennel left has been very average.

 

[SHOWTIME15]

in all fairness it's tough to judge the defense without Mayo out there. they looked pretty good on D when Mayo played against the bills (first quarter or so).

 

[SVN]

patriots scheme has never been like playing aggressive with overloaded blitzes and what not like the jets...never..
its been a different scheme always ,playing sound coverage and good red zone defense.
When its not excecuted well by the current crop the scheme looks bad. Of course BB shares some blame for not having the players execute it but the scheme has worked in the past and has not changed . Ask the 2003/2004 peyton manning.

 

[Snarf]

<< its been a different scheme always ,playing sound coverage and good red zone defense. >>

This is a fine strategy if you do it right, but seriously....

when have we played SOUND COVERAGE the past few years?

 

[SVN]

<< its been a different scheme always ,playing sound coverage and good red zone defense. >>

This is a fine strategy if you do it right, but seriously....

when have we played SOUND COVERAGE the past few years?

iam not denying it either. all iam saying is that the scheme has no issues so to compare it to the steelers and jets and ravens may not be the right comparison. overloaded blitzes etc are not the staple of this scheme. but doesnt mean that we switch to the jets/steelers scheme now and blitz like hell just because its working for them.

 

[condon84]

patriots scheme has never been like playing aggressive with overloaded blitzes and what not like the jets...never..
its been a different scheme always ,playing sound coverage and good red zone defense.
When its not excecuted well by the current crop the scheme looks bad. Of course BB shares some blame for not having the players execute it but the scheme has worked in the past and has not changed . Ask the 2003/2004 peyton manning.

Our defense worked when our DBs were allowed to mug WRs, but since they made "5 yard rule" a point of emphasis, our defense has not been the same. And it's the same type of plays that always gets us.

 

[TomPatriot]

I think the defense has played pretty well. The Jets and Bills averaged 265 yards total offense. That's 4th in the entire NFL. That's remarkable given the type of defense the Pats play.

The Bills scored 17 points (the offense gave up 7) and the Jets scored 16 points on this defense.

It's pretty hard to win in the NFL if your offense scores 9 points.

 

[SyN65]

Agree with OP. Defense has been garbage the past few years and until we get some playmakers on D we won't win the SB. The saying "Defense wins championships" is completely true.

Also - our D sucked yesterday. It was good in the first half but once the Jets O got going they drove down the field pretty easily imo.

 

[Ice Cold Bruschi]

Right now we don't have the horses in the front 7 run a successful 4-3 (with a bunch of cover 2) if Belichick is serious about this change then in the next year I think you'll see someone like peppers brought in or a DE heavy draft class, and I mean speed rushers

 

[borg]

Without a pass rush, this D will not accomplish much. Pressure leads to mistakes, mistakes leads to turnovers. My math says the Pats D has created 1 turnover in 2 games...(and that was a gift due to no camera angle). They lack a player that can dominate a one on one matchup on the line and get to the QB, so they need to rely on scheme, but seem scared to take risks. When a a rookie QB faces 3rd and long, faces no pass rush and the WR/RB/TE are given wide cushions. its no wonder Sanchez found a wide open player in the center of the field. Either the braintrust mistakenly plays to conservatively, or they know this D just can't make it happen. Sure, 16 points isn't much, but after the first series, the Jets O mailed it in until the third quarter.

 

[Ghost of Ben Dreith]

BB knows his defense at least as well as anybody in the league IMO and I would wager better than most if not all. The problem is, as other posters have mentioned, a lack of talent and quality depth on defense. I like the draft picks this year, but in recent years, the Pats drafting has been suspect at best. We are seeing the results of those failures now.

The Bears lost Urlacher for the year at ILB and after watching the Bear-Steeler game yesterday, all I can say is wow.....what a difference in the defenses......aggressive vs. passive. The Bears were all over the field.

Either style can work, as the Pats have shown over the years with their SB wins, but with either style you need to horses. I think this current defense can be very good as the year goes on, but great.....no....not with the pass rush we don't have.

I'm as big a BB fan as anybody, but let's face it, most of us were pulling for LB help in the draft and when we didn't get any, it was the usual BB knows best, and I plead guilty to this. Maybe he does, but if that is the case, then I don't want to hear anybody using the Mayo injury excuse. If we went into the season that thin...where a single injury is devestating to a defense...then that falls squarely on BB's shoulders.

I am going to give the defense half the season before I worry too much. I just hope the offense comes around before then.

 

[mb6592]

Our defense worked when our DBs were allowed to mug WRs, but since they made "5 yard rule" a point of emphasis, our defense has not been the same. And it's the same type of plays that always gets us.

And this is why the old defensive philosophies are irrelevant in today's NFL. It's all about pressure. When DB’s are not allowed to touch anyone, you better make sure you aren't requiring them to cover for an extended amount of time.

 

[mb6592]

Agree with OP. Defense has been garbage the past few years and until we get some playmakers on D we won't win the SB. The saying "Defense wins championships" is completely true.

Also - our D sucked yesterday. It was good in the first half but once the Jets O got going they drove down the field pretty easily imo.

And keep in mind the Jets didn't have the ball at all the first quarter and there game plan was to keep Sanchez restrained. I saw an average defensive effort, but the L was the resposibility of the offense (and Brady specifically).

 

[Stokes]

I must be seeing a different D from some of you guys, I thought they had a very good game yesterday, as well as against Buffalo. Don't forget about another tenet of a Belichick defense; take away what the other team does BEST and make them find other ways to beat you. In Buffalo the primary concern was stopping Owens and Evans, and they did a fantastic job of that at the expense of the running game/swing passes. Yesterday they seemed focused on run stopping and containing Cotchery and again they were successful, at the expense of a few plays down the middle of the field and to Stuckey. Pressure is a good thing but it isn't a cure-all, especially when you have to send extra guys to get that pressure. Don't forget that for all the good things the Jets did yesterday on D had the Patriots not shot themselves in the foot over and over with penalties, drops, and over/underthrows, the Pats could have put up a few touchdowns in place of FGs.

 

[makoute]

And this is why the old defensive philosophies are irrelevant in today's NFL. It's all about pressure. When DB’s are not allowed to touch anyone, you better make sure you aren't requiring them to cover for an extended amount of time.

and it seems like this is something they know, seeing how they run offense.